A federal court on Tuesday threw out Texas’s redistricting plans, saying the maps drawn by the Republican-led legislature undermined the political clout of minorities who are responsible for the state’s population growth.
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Aug 29, 2012
Texas redistricting discriminates against minorities, federal court says
Texas redistricting discriminates against minorities, federal court says:
A federal court on Tuesday threw out Texas’s redistricting plans, saying the maps drawn by the Republican-led legislature undermined the political clout of minorities who are responsible for the state’s population growth.
Read full article >>
A federal court on Tuesday threw out Texas’s redistricting plans, saying the maps drawn by the Republican-led legislature undermined the political clout of minorities who are responsible for the state’s population growth.
Read full article >>
A hunted Syrian activist begins his work anew in Washington
A hunted Syrian activist begins his work anew in Washington:
Last Thursday, Rami Nakhla met some friends after work at a Starbucks on Dupont Circle. They sat outside, and the sun glinted off a glass building and lighted their faces.
For months, Nakhla and his friends, Syrian dissidents who in the past year fled the regime of Bashar al-Assad, had lived shrouded in darkness. Now, meeting openly at a cafe in Washington evoked mixed emotions: bemusement, relief and a twinge of survivor’s guilt for being safe when so many are still in danger.
Read full article >>
Last Thursday, Rami Nakhla met some friends after work at a Starbucks on Dupont Circle. They sat outside, and the sun glinted off a glass building and lighted their faces.
For months, Nakhla and his friends, Syrian dissidents who in the past year fled the regime of Bashar al-Assad, had lived shrouded in darkness. Now, meeting openly at a cafe in Washington evoked mixed emotions: bemusement, relief and a twinge of survivor’s guilt for being safe when so many are still in danger.
Read full article >>
Indian court convicts former state minister in deadly 2002 anti-Muslim riots
Indian court convicts former state minister in deadly 2002 anti-Muslim riots:
NEW DELHI — An Indian court on Wednesday convicted 32 people, including a former state minister and a radical Hindu leader, of involvement in riots 10 years ago that left 95 Muslims dead in the Naroda Patiya neighborhood in the western state of Gujarat.
Read full article >>
NEW DELHI — An Indian court on Wednesday convicted 32 people, including a former state minister and a radical Hindu leader, of involvement in riots 10 years ago that left 95 Muslims dead in the Naroda Patiya neighborhood in the western state of Gujarat.
Read full article >>
Controversy in Mexico over changes to and use of Mayan palaces, Aztec pyramids
Controversy in Mexico over changes to and use of Mayan palaces, Aztec pyramids:
MEXICO CITY— Mexicans are taught to revere their pre-Columbian roots. So some archaeologists are outraged by what they view as the government’s failure to safeguard the nation’s Mayan palaces and Aztec pyramids.
Read full article >>
MEXICO CITY— Mexicans are taught to revere their pre-Columbian roots. So some archaeologists are outraged by what they view as the government’s failure to safeguard the nation’s Mayan palaces and Aztec pyramids.
Read full article >>
Tibetans Guard Sacred Mountain
Tibetans Guard Sacred Mountain:
Tibetan nomads have driven Chinese gold miners away from a sacred mountain in China’s Qinghai province, vowing to give up their lives if necessary to protect the site, the abode of a local god, according to Tibetan sources.
They set fire to the gold miners’ tents and launched 24-hour patrols around the mountain located in the Tibetan-populated Gade county in the Golog (in Chinese, Guolo) prefecture in a bid to keep the gold miners at bay, the sources said.
“The nomads are now watching for intruders on the mountain,” a Tibetan living in the U.S. told RFA, citing contacts in the region and speaking on condition of anonymity.
The mountain, called Dringye Ngo Sorma, is known for the beauty of the lake at its base, for the green meadows on its slopes, and for other characteristics “typical of a sacred mountain,” the source said.
“The deity that lives on the mountain is believed to be very ferocious and powerful,” he added.
On Aug. 10, Chinese miners arrived in the valley at the foot of the mountain and made plans to extract gold from the valley, the source said.
And though local government officials warned Tibetan residents of the area not to interfere with the work, the gold miners’ tents were set on fire two days later.
“The authorities could not detain the persons involved in the burning, as they had all escaped and gone into hiding,” the source said.
Round-the-clock watch
On Aug. 14, Tibetans from the four nomadic groups in the area of Tsangkor Sholma gathered at the mountain, but the Chinese miners had by then fled from the area, the source said.
“So the Tibetans conducted a grand smoke-offering ceremony at the site and then went back to their homes.”
Two nomadic groups are now watching the lower valley of Dringye Ngo Sorma, while another two groups guard the valley of another mountain, Kyu Ri, the source said, adding, “So now the Tibetans are watching these valleys around the clock, both day and night.”
Tibetan residents of the area have refused all orders to let the mining work proceed and have vowed not to allow the extraction of “even one handful of soil” from the sacred mountain, the source said.
Mining operations in Tibetan regions have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms of disrupting sites of spiritual significance and polluting the environment as they extract local wealth.
On Aug. 15, Chinese security forces shot dead a Tibetan and detained six others as they dispersed a crowd of 1,000 Tibetans protesting the resumption of mining operations in Markham county in Tibet, according to Tibetan sources.
Last year, China’s official media reported that investment in the exploration of mineral resources in the Tibet Autonomous Region will be accelerated over a five-year period.
Tibet has large proven and potential reserves of vital deposits, but little exploration has been done so far, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Initial studies show that the Tibet Autonomous Region has China’s largest chromium and copper reserves, while most of its iron, gold, silver, potassium, oil, and natural gas reserves remain unexplored, the report said.
Reported by Chakmo Tso for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Tibetan nomads have driven Chinese gold miners away from a sacred mountain in China’s Qinghai province, vowing to give up their lives if necessary to protect the site, the abode of a local god, according to Tibetan sources.
They set fire to the gold miners’ tents and launched 24-hour patrols around the mountain located in the Tibetan-populated Gade county in the Golog (in Chinese, Guolo) prefecture in a bid to keep the gold miners at bay, the sources said.
“The nomads are now watching for intruders on the mountain,” a Tibetan living in the U.S. told RFA, citing contacts in the region and speaking on condition of anonymity.
The mountain, called Dringye Ngo Sorma, is known for the beauty of the lake at its base, for the green meadows on its slopes, and for other characteristics “typical of a sacred mountain,” the source said.
“The deity that lives on the mountain is believed to be very ferocious and powerful,” he added.
On Aug. 10, Chinese miners arrived in the valley at the foot of the mountain and made plans to extract gold from the valley, the source said.
And though local government officials warned Tibetan residents of the area not to interfere with the work, the gold miners’ tents were set on fire two days later.
“The authorities could not detain the persons involved in the burning, as they had all escaped and gone into hiding,” the source said.
Round-the-clock watch
On Aug. 14, Tibetans from the four nomadic groups in the area of Tsangkor Sholma gathered at the mountain, but the Chinese miners had by then fled from the area, the source said.
“So the Tibetans conducted a grand smoke-offering ceremony at the site and then went back to their homes.”
Two nomadic groups are now watching the lower valley of Dringye Ngo Sorma, while another two groups guard the valley of another mountain, Kyu Ri, the source said, adding, “So now the Tibetans are watching these valleys around the clock, both day and night.”
Tibetan residents of the area have refused all orders to let the mining work proceed and have vowed not to allow the extraction of “even one handful of soil” from the sacred mountain, the source said.
Mining operations in Tibetan regions have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms of disrupting sites of spiritual significance and polluting the environment as they extract local wealth.
On Aug. 15, Chinese security forces shot dead a Tibetan and detained six others as they dispersed a crowd of 1,000 Tibetans protesting the resumption of mining operations in Markham county in Tibet, according to Tibetan sources.
Last year, China’s official media reported that investment in the exploration of mineral resources in the Tibet Autonomous Region will be accelerated over a five-year period.
Tibet has large proven and potential reserves of vital deposits, but little exploration has been done so far, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Initial studies show that the Tibet Autonomous Region has China’s largest chromium and copper reserves, while most of its iron, gold, silver, potassium, oil, and natural gas reserves remain unexplored, the report said.
Reported by Chakmo Tso for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Costlier Food Puts Restaurants in Bind
Costlier Food Puts Restaurants in Bind: Restaurant chains are in a pickle, caught between soaring ingredient costs and fears that raising prices will turn off their budget-conscious customers, who generally remain pessimistic about the economy.
United Airlines Hit by Outage
United Airlines Hit by Outage: United Airlines was hit by widespread computer-network problems that caused hundreds of flight delays at airports around the world, the latest in a series of glitches to affect the world's largest carrier.
Lufthansa Faces Cabin-Crew Strike
Lufthansa Faces Cabin-Crew Strike: Lufthansa faces open-ended strikes by cabin crew in Germany this week after negotiations with the union representing onboard staff failed to settle a dispute over wages and plans to hire temporary staff.
Tax Haven Roils India's Ways
Tax Haven Roils India's Ways: Mauritius, a tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, has become the centerpiece of a debate about how India should tax foreign companies.
In Slowing India, a Fast-Growing Star
In Slowing India, a Fast-Growing Star: Narendra Modi, chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, gave a range of prescriptions for the country's economy, from government investment to support private-sector industry to changes in the power sector to privatization.
In Syria, a Small, but Powerful Force
In Syria, a Small, but Powerful Force: The country's Alawite minority group appears to hold the key as a last line of defense to the Assad regime.
Burma: A Reporter Looks Back
Burma: A Reporter Looks Back:
A visitor to Burma coming back for the first time in 38 years sees much that has changed, but also much that endures.
A country that seemed frozen in time now speaks in many voices—some of them voices that were once silenced.
Talking with a dissident no longer requires a furtive meeting at midnight far from one’s hotel.
But one thing in Burma’s largest city of Rangoon, at least, hasn’t changed—something hard to define but easily noticed on arrival: an eagerness on the part of many Burmese to welcome outsiders.
Now they can show this more openly.
The public’s fear of the isolationist military dictators who dominated the country for nearly half a century now seems to be fading as a result of political reforms, although those reforms have yet to prove lasting.
Speaking truth to power
As The New Yorker ‘s Evan Osnos wrote in a recent blog, no one “seems more energized by the signs of political change” than Burmese journalists.
But when I arrived in Rangoon on a short visit in early August, Burma’s nominally civilian government had just shut down two weekly journals.
They also censored a cartoon that offended some of the country’s still-influential generals.
If the shutdowns were meant by hard-liners among the generals to intimidate an increasingly assertive press though, they failed.
Journalists donned black T-Shirts that read “Stop Killing Media” and launched protests in the cities of Rangoon, Mandalay, and Monywa.
The government then lifted the ban on TheVoice Weekly and Envoy magazine, declaring that it had intended all along for the ban to be temporary.
During my visit in August, I met informally with several Burmese editors who clearly recognize that hard-liners can still reverse the progress that has been made toward a society in which the media can speak truth to power.
But the government then took another step forward on Aug. 20, removing requirements that journalists submit articles on politics or religion to state censors for review before publication.
On Aug. 27, the government announced a cabinet reshuffle that included the reassignment of Kyaw Hsan, the information and culture minister, who was regarded as a hard-liner on media issues.
Some restrictions remain
But private daily newspapers continue to be banned and regulations against publishing information “harmful to state security” remain in place.
And a 2004 law still on the books states that it is unlawful to use electronic transactions to receive or send information relating to “state security.”
Broadly interpreted, this law could severely restrict the flow of information via the Internet and send a violator to prison for up to 15 years.
Meanwhile, the biggest issue for the media at the moment may be the government’s formation of a press council whose aim is to compile a code of journalistic ethics and settle press disputes.
The press council is expected to replace a much-maligned censorship board, but editors say that the make-up of the members of the new council does not bode well for press freedom.
Building trust
Kyaw Min Swe, chief editor of The Voice Weekly, says that pro-democracy groups and the military now need to learn better how to negotiate and compromise.
“We need to learn to speak to each other without emotion,” he says. “We need trust-building.”
This, of course, will take time. Just as it will take time to reform the judicial system, provide for a more open investment environment, and, perhaps most difficult of all, resolve the Burmese government’s conflicts with a multitude of ethnic groups.
In Kachin state, a cease-fire collapsed and fighting continues against rebel insurgents.
And in Rakhine State, tensions still simmer between ethnic Rakhine and the Rohingya minority following an outbreak of violence in June that left dozens of people on both sides dead and tens of thousands displaced.
Moving at top speed
Meanwhile, journalists, artists, poets, and filmmakers act as if they must forge ahead at top speed in order to make up for lost time.
No one epitomizes this sense of urgency more than Zarganar, a comedian and documentary filmmaker, who was jailed several times in the late 1980s and 90s.
He was given a 59-year prison sentence in 2008 for criticizing the government’s failure to adequately aid disaster victims after a cyclone killed more than 140,000 Burmese.
Zarganar himself launched relief efforts to help the victims, but the government imprisoned him for it.
Zarganar, whose real name is Ko Thura, spent a total of 11 years in Burma’s jails and was released from his last prison term only toward the end of last year.
Today he has resumed with a vengeance his role as a critic of government malfeasance.
So far in this year alone, he’s organized a film festival, created a company to produce documentaries, and screened a film about the government’s 2007 crackdown on protesters.
Zarganar is currently working on a film about a company that is attempting to evict hundreds of villagers from a copper mining site. The mining project is a joint venture between a Burmese company and a Chinese one.
He shows me raw footage for the film of a Burmese police officer waving a pistol in the air and yelling at a protesting village woman to “shut up.”
The woman refuses to shut up. And I conclude this may be the most important change taking hold at the moment: Many Burmese are no longer willing to remain silent.
Burma’s greatest asset
I made my first trip to Burma in 1973 on a 48-hour tourist visa. The country was normally off limits to reporters at the time.
In 1974, I was able to get a one-week visa that allowed me to visit Mandalay as well as Rangoon. And thanks to Burmese contacts, I got out to the countryside to talk with several farmers.
But there were limits to what I could do.
On that trip, I stayed at the old colonial-era Strand Hotel. And I recall that an opponent of General Ne Win’s dictatorial government insisted that we couldn’t meet at the hotel because, he said, too many of the government’s secret agents were there.
But despite widespread public fear at that time of informers and the secret police, one Burmese family invited me into their home for a cup of tea and gave me their view of the country’s situation.
I wrote afterward that “Burma’s greatest asset is its people.”
I think that still holds true today.
Dan Southerland is RFA's Executive Editor
A visitor to Burma coming back for the first time in 38 years sees much that has changed, but also much that endures.
A country that seemed frozen in time now speaks in many voices—some of them voices that were once silenced.
Talking with a dissident no longer requires a furtive meeting at midnight far from one’s hotel.
But one thing in Burma’s largest city of Rangoon, at least, hasn’t changed—something hard to define but easily noticed on arrival: an eagerness on the part of many Burmese to welcome outsiders.
Now they can show this more openly.
The public’s fear of the isolationist military dictators who dominated the country for nearly half a century now seems to be fading as a result of political reforms, although those reforms have yet to prove lasting.
Speaking truth to power
As The New Yorker ‘s Evan Osnos wrote in a recent blog, no one “seems more energized by the signs of political change” than Burmese journalists.
But when I arrived in Rangoon on a short visit in early August, Burma’s nominally civilian government had just shut down two weekly journals.
They also censored a cartoon that offended some of the country’s still-influential generals.
If the shutdowns were meant by hard-liners among the generals to intimidate an increasingly assertive press though, they failed.
Journalists donned black T-Shirts that read “Stop Killing Media” and launched protests in the cities of Rangoon, Mandalay, and Monywa.
The government then lifted the ban on TheVoice Weekly and Envoy magazine, declaring that it had intended all along for the ban to be temporary.
During my visit in August, I met informally with several Burmese editors who clearly recognize that hard-liners can still reverse the progress that has been made toward a society in which the media can speak truth to power.
But the government then took another step forward on Aug. 20, removing requirements that journalists submit articles on politics or religion to state censors for review before publication.
On Aug. 27, the government announced a cabinet reshuffle that included the reassignment of Kyaw Hsan, the information and culture minister, who was regarded as a hard-liner on media issues.
Some restrictions remain
But private daily newspapers continue to be banned and regulations against publishing information “harmful to state security” remain in place.
And a 2004 law still on the books states that it is unlawful to use electronic transactions to receive or send information relating to “state security.”
Broadly interpreted, this law could severely restrict the flow of information via the Internet and send a violator to prison for up to 15 years.
Meanwhile, the biggest issue for the media at the moment may be the government’s formation of a press council whose aim is to compile a code of journalistic ethics and settle press disputes.
The press council is expected to replace a much-maligned censorship board, but editors say that the make-up of the members of the new council does not bode well for press freedom.
Building trust
Kyaw Min Swe, chief editor of The Voice Weekly, says that pro-democracy groups and the military now need to learn better how to negotiate and compromise.
“We need to learn to speak to each other without emotion,” he says. “We need trust-building.”
This, of course, will take time. Just as it will take time to reform the judicial system, provide for a more open investment environment, and, perhaps most difficult of all, resolve the Burmese government’s conflicts with a multitude of ethnic groups.
In Kachin state, a cease-fire collapsed and fighting continues against rebel insurgents.
And in Rakhine State, tensions still simmer between ethnic Rakhine and the Rohingya minority following an outbreak of violence in June that left dozens of people on both sides dead and tens of thousands displaced.
Moving at top speed
Meanwhile, journalists, artists, poets, and filmmakers act as if they must forge ahead at top speed in order to make up for lost time.
No one epitomizes this sense of urgency more than Zarganar, a comedian and documentary filmmaker, who was jailed several times in the late 1980s and 90s.
He was given a 59-year prison sentence in 2008 for criticizing the government’s failure to adequately aid disaster victims after a cyclone killed more than 140,000 Burmese.
Zarganar himself launched relief efforts to help the victims, but the government imprisoned him for it.
Zarganar, whose real name is Ko Thura, spent a total of 11 years in Burma’s jails and was released from his last prison term only toward the end of last year.
Today he has resumed with a vengeance his role as a critic of government malfeasance.
So far in this year alone, he’s organized a film festival, created a company to produce documentaries, and screened a film about the government’s 2007 crackdown on protesters.
Zarganar is currently working on a film about a company that is attempting to evict hundreds of villagers from a copper mining site. The mining project is a joint venture between a Burmese company and a Chinese one.
He shows me raw footage for the film of a Burmese police officer waving a pistol in the air and yelling at a protesting village woman to “shut up.”
The woman refuses to shut up. And I conclude this may be the most important change taking hold at the moment: Many Burmese are no longer willing to remain silent.
Burma’s greatest asset
I made my first trip to Burma in 1973 on a 48-hour tourist visa. The country was normally off limits to reporters at the time.
In 1974, I was able to get a one-week visa that allowed me to visit Mandalay as well as Rangoon. And thanks to Burmese contacts, I got out to the countryside to talk with several farmers.
But there were limits to what I could do.
On that trip, I stayed at the old colonial-era Strand Hotel. And I recall that an opponent of General Ne Win’s dictatorial government insisted that we couldn’t meet at the hotel because, he said, too many of the government’s secret agents were there.
But despite widespread public fear at that time of informers and the secret police, one Burmese family invited me into their home for a cup of tea and gave me their view of the country’s situation.
I wrote afterward that “Burma’s greatest asset is its people.”
I think that still holds true today.
Dan Southerland is RFA's Executive Editor
Parigi mudslide victims still need aid
Parigi mudslide victims still need aid: Despite government assistance there are still victims of the mudslide in Parigi Moutong regency, Central Sulawesi, who have not received aid. Mirna, of Gangga village, South Parigi district, is one ...
Major flooding, landslides hit parts of North Sumatra
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Lebaran Topat, the Sasak end-of-Ramadhan celebration
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Shiite refugees in desperate need of psychological support
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Election supervisor mulls online monitoring
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Haze chokes Batam, will soon reach Singapore
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House bill silent on Sultan’s succession
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Regional police can’t touch masterminds of Shiite attack: watchdog
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Lawmaker urges govt to hold regular meetings with minority groups
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Children ‘take a nap’ during President’s speech
Children ‘take a nap’ during President’s speech: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf)President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requires full attention from his audiences, regardless their position or age. After a regional leader ...
E. Java sets aside Rp 700 million for Sampang refugees
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All political parties should undergo verification process: Court
All political parties should undergo verification process: Court: Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD (left) and justice Maria Farida Indrati (right): (JP/Jerry Adiguna)The Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that all political parties should undergo the ...
Village of a thousand homes, Kampung Cempaka near Kuala Lumpur
Village of a thousand homes, Kampung Cempaka near Kuala Lumpur:
By: Diana van Oort
It’s not easy for my taxi driver to find Kampung Cempaka, even with my map and the directions of numerous people. Driving through spaghetti type highways and many newly build neighborhoods, there is no sign of any planning in the area. After we follow another taxi driver, we finally arrive.
Kampung Cempaka near KL, By: Diana van Oort
Kampung Cempaka is a Chinese shanty town close to upscale Petaling Jaya in Kuala Lumpur. It’s surrounded by modern development. The original settlers were relocated here soon after the 13 May 1969 race riots. They lost loved ones and were given land to resettle. It was the new home for exactly 1000 families. The early settlers were mostly from the Sai Vooi clan and formed an association. The roads are narrow and houses are built haphazardly. The town houses many little factories, where the business practices of some are cause for concern regarding safety and the environment. Kampung Cempaka still feels like a small town where people know each other. It has kept it roots and identity, amidst a city with impersonal, huge apartment buildings where most people don’t know their neighbors. It makes the city feel impersonal, distant and cool. Here there is a sense of community with just a single karaoke club and a well visited temple.
The village’s official name was derived from the giant magnolia tree that was planted by the sultan of Selangor. Cempaka is Malay for magnolia. It stands just a stone’s throw away from the Yuen Leong Sing Fatt Temple. The temple is home to the Yuen Leong Sing Fatt deity, believed to be the guardian of business interest of which the members of the Sai Vooi clan are staunch followers. During the day it’s a popular meeting point for the elderly where they can catch up on the latest gossip.
The Chinese temple, By: Diana van Oort
On weekdays many people visit the temple to seek blessings. The temple also organizes an annual Chinese New Year treat in the form of goodie bags for 300 needy senior citizens. One of the branches of the tree next to the temple has a strong likeness to the trunk of Lord Ganesha, the Indian God, as Loke, who is the temple medium, tells me. Opposite the temple youngsters are playing basketball. The place looks peaceful and relaxed.
The magnolia tree that gave Kampung Cempaka its name, By: Diana van Oort
13 May 1969 refers to the Sino-Malay violence in Kuala Lumpur. Officially, 196 people were killed between 13 May and 31 July 1969. Although journalists and other observers have stated much higher figures: 800 to 1000 (others say up to 2000) were killed by rioters, police and Malaysian Army rangers, mainly in Kuala Lumpur. Most victims were Chinese. There were numerous cases of arson and approximately 6,000 Kuala Lumpur residents (of which 90% were Chinese) ended up homeless. The facts are still not clear, ‘classified’ is another term for it. Many allege that the riots were a ploy by the Malay elites of UMNO (ruling party), as part of their efforts to wrest power from the moderate Tunku Abdul Rahman, in which they succeeded, as well as to further their agenda of Malay supremacy which has dominated Malaysian government policy ever since.
It’s being instilled in the Malay from an early age: the land is ours, ours by birthright as Malays. The emotions of the Malay are understandable, but are they just? They were also immigrants, just at a much earlier date.
The British colonizers, who ‘invited’ Chinese and Indian immigrants, saw the Malay as farmers. In 1835 the percentage of Chinese was about 8%. Most Chinese came between 1835 and 1957. Other Chinese and their often mixed race descendants lived in Malaysia since the1400rds. This left the Malay disenfranchised after the British left and the Chinese as the driving force behind the economy. While the Chinese population was largely transient, 29 % were local born, most of whom the offspring of first-generation Chinese immigrants. Since then the Chinese population has diminished: from about 45% Chinese or of mixed Chinese descent after independence in 1965 to about 24% now. This is caused by lower birthrates and emigration especially of the educated Chinese.
Playing basketball in Kampung Cempaka, By: Diana van Oort
On the surface it looks like 1 Malaysia: people of all ethnicities living together peacefully. Beneath the surface you’ll find a very different picture: fear, jealousy contempt, distrust and loathing. There is institutionalized racism giving the Malay and other ‘original inhabitants’ preferable treatment and all kinds of financial and educational advantages. Although the Malay are the ones that really profit from this policy.
They used to live together and eat together. Now most Malay don’t want to set foot in a Chinese restaurant. Non Halal as an argument, but reeking of politics using religion as a tool to drive people apart. And it works.
When are you allowed to call a country your own and have the same rights as the people that came before you? The answer in Malaysia so far has been never. To me that’s not fair and hurtful towards people who consider Malaysia their home and have done so for generations…
By: Diana van Oort
It’s not easy for my taxi driver to find Kampung Cempaka, even with my map and the directions of numerous people. Driving through spaghetti type highways and many newly build neighborhoods, there is no sign of any planning in the area. After we follow another taxi driver, we finally arrive.
Kampung Cempaka near KL, By: Diana van Oort
Kampung Cempaka is a Chinese shanty town close to upscale Petaling Jaya in Kuala Lumpur. It’s surrounded by modern development. The original settlers were relocated here soon after the 13 May 1969 race riots. They lost loved ones and were given land to resettle. It was the new home for exactly 1000 families. The early settlers were mostly from the Sai Vooi clan and formed an association. The roads are narrow and houses are built haphazardly. The town houses many little factories, where the business practices of some are cause for concern regarding safety and the environment. Kampung Cempaka still feels like a small town where people know each other. It has kept it roots and identity, amidst a city with impersonal, huge apartment buildings where most people don’t know their neighbors. It makes the city feel impersonal, distant and cool. Here there is a sense of community with just a single karaoke club and a well visited temple.
The village’s official name was derived from the giant magnolia tree that was planted by the sultan of Selangor. Cempaka is Malay for magnolia. It stands just a stone’s throw away from the Yuen Leong Sing Fatt Temple. The temple is home to the Yuen Leong Sing Fatt deity, believed to be the guardian of business interest of which the members of the Sai Vooi clan are staunch followers. During the day it’s a popular meeting point for the elderly where they can catch up on the latest gossip.
The Chinese temple, By: Diana van Oort
On weekdays many people visit the temple to seek blessings. The temple also organizes an annual Chinese New Year treat in the form of goodie bags for 300 needy senior citizens. One of the branches of the tree next to the temple has a strong likeness to the trunk of Lord Ganesha, the Indian God, as Loke, who is the temple medium, tells me. Opposite the temple youngsters are playing basketball. The place looks peaceful and relaxed.
The magnolia tree that gave Kampung Cempaka its name, By: Diana van Oort
13 May 1969 refers to the Sino-Malay violence in Kuala Lumpur. Officially, 196 people were killed between 13 May and 31 July 1969. Although journalists and other observers have stated much higher figures: 800 to 1000 (others say up to 2000) were killed by rioters, police and Malaysian Army rangers, mainly in Kuala Lumpur. Most victims were Chinese. There were numerous cases of arson and approximately 6,000 Kuala Lumpur residents (of which 90% were Chinese) ended up homeless. The facts are still not clear, ‘classified’ is another term for it. Many allege that the riots were a ploy by the Malay elites of UMNO (ruling party), as part of their efforts to wrest power from the moderate Tunku Abdul Rahman, in which they succeeded, as well as to further their agenda of Malay supremacy which has dominated Malaysian government policy ever since.
It’s being instilled in the Malay from an early age: the land is ours, ours by birthright as Malays. The emotions of the Malay are understandable, but are they just? They were also immigrants, just at a much earlier date.
The British colonizers, who ‘invited’ Chinese and Indian immigrants, saw the Malay as farmers. In 1835 the percentage of Chinese was about 8%. Most Chinese came between 1835 and 1957. Other Chinese and their often mixed race descendants lived in Malaysia since the1400rds. This left the Malay disenfranchised after the British left and the Chinese as the driving force behind the economy. While the Chinese population was largely transient, 29 % were local born, most of whom the offspring of first-generation Chinese immigrants. Since then the Chinese population has diminished: from about 45% Chinese or of mixed Chinese descent after independence in 1965 to about 24% now. This is caused by lower birthrates and emigration especially of the educated Chinese.
Playing basketball in Kampung Cempaka, By: Diana van Oort
On the surface it looks like 1 Malaysia: people of all ethnicities living together peacefully. Beneath the surface you’ll find a very different picture: fear, jealousy contempt, distrust and loathing. There is institutionalized racism giving the Malay and other ‘original inhabitants’ preferable treatment and all kinds of financial and educational advantages. Although the Malay are the ones that really profit from this policy.
They used to live together and eat together. Now most Malay don’t want to set foot in a Chinese restaurant. Non Halal as an argument, but reeking of politics using religion as a tool to drive people apart. And it works.
When are you allowed to call a country your own and have the same rights as the people that came before you? The answer in Malaysia so far has been never. To me that’s not fair and hurtful towards people who consider Malaysia their home and have done so for generations…
Asia Afrika Soundsystem: Indonesia’s Premier Reggae Soundsystem
Asia Afrika Soundsystem: Indonesia’s Premier Reggae Soundsystem:
By: Chandra Drews
Think about reggae and Indonesia and the image to most likely pop into your head would be the rows and rows of Bob Marley posters and paraphernalia sold across the streets of Java or perhaps the many UB40 tribute bands playing in many of the nation’s bars and cafes. And what about all the other rich traditions of Jamaican music I hear you ask? That’s where Ras Muhamad and Lion Rock of Asia-Afrika Soundsystem come into the picture.
Lion Rock & Ras Muhamad have an agenda: a noble agenda of spreading the vast wealth of Jamaican music (that runs so much deeper than Bob Marley and UB-40) amongst the Indonesian population. But how did the South Jakartan Lion Rock and the Queens raised Ras Muhamad first get together? How did they fall in love with Jamaican music in the first place? What’s the story and goals behind Asia Afrika Soundsystem? Latitudes got in touch with the two reggae heads to ask these very same questions. Their replies paint a vivid picture with a patois twang.
TUFFDUB – TUFFSTUFF GANG x Asia Afrika Soundsystem by tuffstuffgang
First of all, tell us a bit about yourselves.
LR: My name is King Lion Rock the original top ranking selecta outta Indonesia, boom!
RM: I am Ras Muhamad, a reggae musician from Indonesia that has released 3 full-length studio albums. I independently produce, distribute & promote reggae music.
Other than that I’m involved in broadcast, doing a weekly 2-hour reggae show called “Jamaicansound” on an FM radio station, one of Jakarta’s leading radio stations for the younger generation. Being an announcer, host and producer of “Jamaicansound” gives me the experience and opportunity to teach about reggae culture, history and so on.
I also work as an active deejay (toaster/emcee) as the half of Asia-Afrika Soundsystem, our mission is to show that before other sounds came along such as hip-hop, jungle, drum n bass, house & electro, Jamaican music did it first. The soundsystem cuture, deejay & selector all started in Jamaica as the foundation.
How did first find your love for reggae?
LR: The first time I fell in love with reggae was in high school, I was a hardcore hip hop head back in the day and I dug lots of hip hop records, especially from the New York scene like Wu Tang, Nas, Mobb Deep, Onyx, Company Flow, A Tribe Called Quest, etc. Then as the time passed by, like everybody eIse I first started listening to reggae when I got exposed to Bob Marley (the first tune I heard was Buffalo Soldier if I’m not mistaken): I could relate to the heavy drums and deep bass lines of the sound. Even though Bob Marley was the first record that I heard, it was Culture (RIP Joseph Hill) that made me fall in love with reggae music (with tracks like 2 Seven Clash, Jah See Dem Come, Legalization, Humble African and many others). Their righteous lyrics and uplifting riddim (the Jamaican term for beat/rhythm) drew me deeper into reggae music, since then I started to find out more about reggae and rastafarian culture.
RM: My first exposure of reggae music was definitely in New York. My cousin listened to dancehall music and I was familiar with Rap, so in my ears dancehall was akin to rap at first listen even though I couldn’t really catch what the artist was singing about in dancehall tunes due to the Patois accent. I asked my cousin what music was it that we were listening to. And he said “it’s reggae”, so my first thought that comes to mind then about reggae was dancehall music.
I remember one of the first tunes that I listened to was Buju’s “Champion” and Nadine & Terror’s “Action”, this was circa ’93-’94 when Eastcoast hip-hop was rising in New York with Wu-Tang, Nas, Fugees, Gangstarr and Mobb Deep as the hottest thing on radio. I remember listening to Hot 97 after school and just be engulfed in that boom-bap vibe, very thankful of it because I felt the essence of what hip-hop culture was all about. So when Hot 97 wanted to flip a bit of their menu, dancehall music flowed through their playlist. So basically the majority of kids my age at that time listened to what was relevant in hip-hop and had some knowledge of what was happening in the dancehall culture.
Dancehall was more to the riddim and the culture, my own consciousness didn’t start to become active until about 3-4 years later when I was exposed to Bob Marley’s music. It was actually in school, where we had a class that studied “the impact of music in social-political context” that I learned of Bob Marley. It was “Redemption Song” that we had to study and analyze as students. I didn’t like it as first since the Bob Marley tune was in acoustic format and wasn’t the authentic Caribbean riddim. But during this time, The Fugees released their 2nd LP “The Score” and they remixed No Woman, No Cry with Stephen Marley on board and I instantly liked the tune. I found out through my mother that it is a Bob Marley cover tune that I was listening to. And not by coincidence during that time she also made a business trip to Jamaica, so she brought back few things for me. One of the things were the Bob Marley greatest hits album “Legend” and I was completely in love with the message and vibes.
How did you guys first start as a reggae performers? What were your motivations?
LR: Well before I was a DJ, I just loved to dig music like hip hop which is my foundation, funk, jazz, and of course reggae. Then a friend of mine asked me to play at his party (back then I was playing funk and hip hop just for fun). I played a lot at friend’s parties or some small gigs. At first I did not have any intention to play reggae music, then in mid 2008 my fellow soundsystem member Ras Muhamad just came back from his European trip and he got this idea about assembling a reggae soundsystem so he asked me to form a selecta – deejay group so then the Asia-Afrika Soundsystem was born.
RM: I first got involved as a toaster during my college days. I had experience as a lead singer for a rock/hip-hop band during high school and as a hip-hop emcee in my first semester as a college student. Becoming involved in reggae was pretty much a natural process, after listening to Bob Marley’s legend. A friend let me listen to the “Natty Dread” album and I was completely hypnotized, as you can say the tune that opened me up culturally was “Them Belly Full”. I realized at that moment Bob Marley’s music wasn’t just limited to his greatest hits album. So at that time I became more and more interested in Bob Marley’s message and the Rastafari culture.
It was the end of the millennium that I started growing my locks and slowly meditating on what Rastafari culture is all about. So when I entered my college days, my campus had a lot Caribbean and African peoples attending it. They were the ones that exposed me to soundsystem culture and brought me deeper into the reggae and Rasta culture. Since my campus was so close to Brooklyn, I spent most of time after classes there or uptown in Harlem instead of where I lived, Queens.
It was there in Flatbush, Brooklyn that I had the courage to toast and learned the skills of being a toaster. It was during this time also that Sizzla, Luciano and other Bobo artist influenced my expression and way of thinking. My friends were the one to push me to write some Reggae chunes and I eventually did. I put out a self-produced half-demo/half-studio album entitled “Declaration of Truths” in 2005 in New York. It was this time also I heavily started to study the history and the culture of Jamaican music, from its deejays, top-artists and legends beside Bob Marley, soundsystems and so on.
Asia Afrika Soundystem LiveAnd you obviously carried this on in Indonesia, Ras?
RM: When I reached Indonesia in 2005, our country was in a set-back of what Selector Lionrock and I called “Bob Marley-isms”. Where so many so-called reggae fans and listeners in Indonesia had the listening references limited to obviously Bob Marley, UB40, Big Mountain and Inner Circle. In whom I categorize as “Top 40 90′s Reggae” or some obscure illusive “beach boy reggae” image. It a came as a bit of shock during this time for me, it was 2005 and Damian Marley’s “Jamrock” was burning up the charts & the streets when I was about to leave Babylon, NYC.
So, I had to somewhat compromise my artistic expression. Even though I am a cultural one-drop artist, I had to expose myself as a dancehall artist in Indonesia at first since a lot of people were vague about dancehall in Indonesia. I had to show people, how I exposed myself through natural process how dancehall has touched me in my first style and contact of reggae.
Not to boast but no one did proper toasting over riddims in Indonesia, so I had to do that. I toasted over riddims that was dancehall oriented, I used heavy patois mixed with Indonesian lyrics. I risked myself being categorized as a “rapper” from the hip-hop culture and being labeled as “Reggaeton” music since Dancehall Reggae was so foreign to Indonesian ears.
I was brave enough to realize my duty to spread the message of reggae music and show many aspects and styles of the culture, that’s why I see myself as Indonesia’s Reggae Ambassador. My first album released in Indonesia was titled exactly that “Reggae Ambassador” in 2007. It is an album mixed of dancehall, roots reggae and hip-hop.
Luigi, how did you meet Ras?
LR: Well before I met Ras, I already heard his name and his work, this was before he was a reggae deejay, he was in a hardcore-metal band. I was quite a fan of him, his friend is my skate buddy so I got to listen to all his music through my friend. At that time Ras was in New York and I was in Jakarta and social media was not available at that time so we never communicated. The first time ever we met was in 2007 I think, Ras was already in Jakarta for quite some time and I just came back from Canada. Since then we started to chill and work together. And as I said before, once Ras came back from his European Tour, we formed Asia Afrika Soundsystem.
Can you tell me more about the foundation of Asia Afrika Soundsystem?
RM: The fundamentals of Asia-Afrika is simple. We’re spreading the culture where it all started, Jamaica. The interesting thing is that when we started Asia-Afrika, again some were foreign to the concept of reggae in a DJ setting. We were even asked questions by a few soundsystems of other dj genres, if reggae can really work out as a soundsystem and DJ set. They just haven’t realized yet that the house, techno, and electro selectors were actually emulating what Jamaican selectors were doing since 50 years ago.
Long road to carry for us as a soundsystem, I was motivated to build a soundsystem with Lionrock in part of my travels to Europe in 2008. I was amazed how healthy the soundsystem culture is in Europe, reggae sessions are almost daily. And we have that missing in Indonesia, Soundsystems where you hear and dance to big chunes new & old. The Wailers wouldn’t get their break in Jamaica if it wasn’t for travelling soundsystems from yard to yard bussing out the simmer down chune, so we (Asia-Afrika) keep it in that tradition. Our mission is to basically make people have a good time and dance but also to catch that energy of consciousness and strength.
The name Asia-Afrika Sound was derived from a political motion of Soekarno, the First President of Indonesia. He believed in the unity of African-Asian peoples, so to me what the Rasta message has voiced through Reggae music as a form of empowerment, we as Indonesians can relate to it, since both peoples were victims of colonial downpression. Other than that, Asia-Afrika can simply mean we, Lion Rock & Ras Muhamad are two Asians playing Afrocentric music because the core of Reggae music is just that, Africa!
How do you see reggae/ Jamaican influenced music developing in Indonesia?
LR: I’m not trying to be snob or anything as I’m not really good at playing music either yet its just that the reggae bands here don’t seem to know how to deliver reggae music properly, to me the sounds is to weak. The most important part of reggae music is the bass and the drums, and many local reggae bands do not realize that, they just focus on the rhythm of the guitar.. I think the reggae bands here still need to research and learn to play the proper foundation sound of reggae music. But other than that, there are definitely positives coming out from the past few years.
RM: As in fan base for Reggae music in Indonesia, the following is unbelievably massive! I can say that outside Japan, we have the biggest number of reggae followers in Asia. But on the downside is that there are many ‘Marley-ists’ that are stuck on the “Legend” album. The other alignment is the Dub heads; they dislike the ‘Marley-ists’ but love Tubby and Perry. Only thing the Dub heads doesn’t follow is the new cultural artist for instance Tarrus, Luciano, Sizzla and so on. And then there are the skinheads, who listen to reggae music that predates the Rasta era, so they stick to that and don’t listen to the Rasta message since it “too black, too African” for them to relate.
We don’t fall into partiality for reggae. We Love the culture and respect all aspects of it. I see that Jamaican music will be powerful force in Indonesia once we set aside all the labels of “A”, “B” and just get on with the vibes. Forward still! I tell you that Asia-Afrika is the only sound in Southeast Asia that has direct links with Jamaica. Max Romeo, John Holt, Freddie McGregor just to name a few has worked with us. So dem chunes ago buss!!! Boom!
Further References:
Email:
aasound45@gmail.com
Website:
http://www.asia-afrikasoundsystem.blogspot.com/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Asia-Afrika-SoundSystem/196674367052895
http://www.facebook.com/groups/aasound45/
Soundcloud:
www.soundcloud.com/aasound45
By: Chandra Drews
Think about reggae and Indonesia and the image to most likely pop into your head would be the rows and rows of Bob Marley posters and paraphernalia sold across the streets of Java or perhaps the many UB40 tribute bands playing in many of the nation’s bars and cafes. And what about all the other rich traditions of Jamaican music I hear you ask? That’s where Ras Muhamad and Lion Rock of Asia-Afrika Soundsystem come into the picture.
Lion Rock & Ras Muhamad have an agenda: a noble agenda of spreading the vast wealth of Jamaican music (that runs so much deeper than Bob Marley and UB-40) amongst the Indonesian population. But how did the South Jakartan Lion Rock and the Queens raised Ras Muhamad first get together? How did they fall in love with Jamaican music in the first place? What’s the story and goals behind Asia Afrika Soundsystem? Latitudes got in touch with the two reggae heads to ask these very same questions. Their replies paint a vivid picture with a patois twang.
TUFFDUB – TUFFSTUFF GANG x Asia Afrika Soundsystem by tuffstuffgang
First of all, tell us a bit about yourselves.
LR: My name is King Lion Rock the original top ranking selecta outta Indonesia, boom!
RM: I am Ras Muhamad, a reggae musician from Indonesia that has released 3 full-length studio albums. I independently produce, distribute & promote reggae music.
Other than that I’m involved in broadcast, doing a weekly 2-hour reggae show called “Jamaicansound” on an FM radio station, one of Jakarta’s leading radio stations for the younger generation. Being an announcer, host and producer of “Jamaicansound” gives me the experience and opportunity to teach about reggae culture, history and so on.
I also work as an active deejay (toaster/emcee) as the half of Asia-Afrika Soundsystem, our mission is to show that before other sounds came along such as hip-hop, jungle, drum n bass, house & electro, Jamaican music did it first. The soundsystem cuture, deejay & selector all started in Jamaica as the foundation.
LR: The first time I fell in love with reggae was in high school, I was a hardcore hip hop head back in the day and I dug lots of hip hop records, especially from the New York scene like Wu Tang, Nas, Mobb Deep, Onyx, Company Flow, A Tribe Called Quest, etc. Then as the time passed by, like everybody eIse I first started listening to reggae when I got exposed to Bob Marley (the first tune I heard was Buffalo Soldier if I’m not mistaken): I could relate to the heavy drums and deep bass lines of the sound. Even though Bob Marley was the first record that I heard, it was Culture (RIP Joseph Hill) that made me fall in love with reggae music (with tracks like 2 Seven Clash, Jah See Dem Come, Legalization, Humble African and many others). Their righteous lyrics and uplifting riddim (the Jamaican term for beat/rhythm) drew me deeper into reggae music, since then I started to find out more about reggae and rastafarian culture.
RM: My first exposure of reggae music was definitely in New York. My cousin listened to dancehall music and I was familiar with Rap, so in my ears dancehall was akin to rap at first listen even though I couldn’t really catch what the artist was singing about in dancehall tunes due to the Patois accent. I asked my cousin what music was it that we were listening to. And he said “it’s reggae”, so my first thought that comes to mind then about reggae was dancehall music.
I remember one of the first tunes that I listened to was Buju’s “Champion” and Nadine & Terror’s “Action”, this was circa ’93-’94 when Eastcoast hip-hop was rising in New York with Wu-Tang, Nas, Fugees, Gangstarr and Mobb Deep as the hottest thing on radio. I remember listening to Hot 97 after school and just be engulfed in that boom-bap vibe, very thankful of it because I felt the essence of what hip-hop culture was all about. So when Hot 97 wanted to flip a bit of their menu, dancehall music flowed through their playlist. So basically the majority of kids my age at that time listened to what was relevant in hip-hop and had some knowledge of what was happening in the dancehall culture.
Dancehall was more to the riddim and the culture, my own consciousness didn’t start to become active until about 3-4 years later when I was exposed to Bob Marley’s music. It was actually in school, where we had a class that studied “the impact of music in social-political context” that I learned of Bob Marley. It was “Redemption Song” that we had to study and analyze as students. I didn’t like it as first since the Bob Marley tune was in acoustic format and wasn’t the authentic Caribbean riddim. But during this time, The Fugees released their 2nd LP “The Score” and they remixed No Woman, No Cry with Stephen Marley on board and I instantly liked the tune. I found out through my mother that it is a Bob Marley cover tune that I was listening to. And not by coincidence during that time she also made a business trip to Jamaica, so she brought back few things for me. One of the things were the Bob Marley greatest hits album “Legend” and I was completely in love with the message and vibes.
How did you guys first start as a reggae performers? What were your motivations?
LR: Well before I was a DJ, I just loved to dig music like hip hop which is my foundation, funk, jazz, and of course reggae. Then a friend of mine asked me to play at his party (back then I was playing funk and hip hop just for fun). I played a lot at friend’s parties or some small gigs. At first I did not have any intention to play reggae music, then in mid 2008 my fellow soundsystem member Ras Muhamad just came back from his European trip and he got this idea about assembling a reggae soundsystem so he asked me to form a selecta – deejay group so then the Asia-Afrika Soundsystem was born.
RM: I first got involved as a toaster during my college days. I had experience as a lead singer for a rock/hip-hop band during high school and as a hip-hop emcee in my first semester as a college student. Becoming involved in reggae was pretty much a natural process, after listening to Bob Marley’s legend. A friend let me listen to the “Natty Dread” album and I was completely hypnotized, as you can say the tune that opened me up culturally was “Them Belly Full”. I realized at that moment Bob Marley’s music wasn’t just limited to his greatest hits album. So at that time I became more and more interested in Bob Marley’s message and the Rastafari culture.
It was the end of the millennium that I started growing my locks and slowly meditating on what Rastafari culture is all about. So when I entered my college days, my campus had a lot Caribbean and African peoples attending it. They were the ones that exposed me to soundsystem culture and brought me deeper into the reggae and Rasta culture. Since my campus was so close to Brooklyn, I spent most of time after classes there or uptown in Harlem instead of where I lived, Queens.
It was there in Flatbush, Brooklyn that I had the courage to toast and learned the skills of being a toaster. It was during this time also that Sizzla, Luciano and other Bobo artist influenced my expression and way of thinking. My friends were the one to push me to write some Reggae chunes and I eventually did. I put out a self-produced half-demo/half-studio album entitled “Declaration of Truths” in 2005 in New York. It was this time also I heavily started to study the history and the culture of Jamaican music, from its deejays, top-artists and legends beside Bob Marley, soundsystems and so on.
Asia Afrika Soundystem Live
RM: When I reached Indonesia in 2005, our country was in a set-back of what Selector Lionrock and I called “Bob Marley-isms”. Where so many so-called reggae fans and listeners in Indonesia had the listening references limited to obviously Bob Marley, UB40, Big Mountain and Inner Circle. In whom I categorize as “Top 40 90′s Reggae” or some obscure illusive “beach boy reggae” image. It a came as a bit of shock during this time for me, it was 2005 and Damian Marley’s “Jamrock” was burning up the charts & the streets when I was about to leave Babylon, NYC.
So, I had to somewhat compromise my artistic expression. Even though I am a cultural one-drop artist, I had to expose myself as a dancehall artist in Indonesia at first since a lot of people were vague about dancehall in Indonesia. I had to show people, how I exposed myself through natural process how dancehall has touched me in my first style and contact of reggae.
Not to boast but no one did proper toasting over riddims in Indonesia, so I had to do that. I toasted over riddims that was dancehall oriented, I used heavy patois mixed with Indonesian lyrics. I risked myself being categorized as a “rapper” from the hip-hop culture and being labeled as “Reggaeton” music since Dancehall Reggae was so foreign to Indonesian ears.
I was brave enough to realize my duty to spread the message of reggae music and show many aspects and styles of the culture, that’s why I see myself as Indonesia’s Reggae Ambassador. My first album released in Indonesia was titled exactly that “Reggae Ambassador” in 2007. It is an album mixed of dancehall, roots reggae and hip-hop.
Luigi, how did you meet Ras?
LR: Well before I met Ras, I already heard his name and his work, this was before he was a reggae deejay, he was in a hardcore-metal band. I was quite a fan of him, his friend is my skate buddy so I got to listen to all his music through my friend. At that time Ras was in New York and I was in Jakarta and social media was not available at that time so we never communicated. The first time ever we met was in 2007 I think, Ras was already in Jakarta for quite some time and I just came back from Canada. Since then we started to chill and work together. And as I said before, once Ras came back from his European Tour, we formed Asia Afrika Soundsystem.
Can you tell me more about the foundation of Asia Afrika Soundsystem?
RM: The fundamentals of Asia-Afrika is simple. We’re spreading the culture where it all started, Jamaica. The interesting thing is that when we started Asia-Afrika, again some were foreign to the concept of reggae in a DJ setting. We were even asked questions by a few soundsystems of other dj genres, if reggae can really work out as a soundsystem and DJ set. They just haven’t realized yet that the house, techno, and electro selectors were actually emulating what Jamaican selectors were doing since 50 years ago.
Long road to carry for us as a soundsystem, I was motivated to build a soundsystem with Lionrock in part of my travels to Europe in 2008. I was amazed how healthy the soundsystem culture is in Europe, reggae sessions are almost daily. And we have that missing in Indonesia, Soundsystems where you hear and dance to big chunes new & old. The Wailers wouldn’t get their break in Jamaica if it wasn’t for travelling soundsystems from yard to yard bussing out the simmer down chune, so we (Asia-Afrika) keep it in that tradition. Our mission is to basically make people have a good time and dance but also to catch that energy of consciousness and strength.
The name Asia-Afrika Sound was derived from a political motion of Soekarno, the First President of Indonesia. He believed in the unity of African-Asian peoples, so to me what the Rasta message has voiced through Reggae music as a form of empowerment, we as Indonesians can relate to it, since both peoples were victims of colonial downpression. Other than that, Asia-Afrika can simply mean we, Lion Rock & Ras Muhamad are two Asians playing Afrocentric music because the core of Reggae music is just that, Africa!
How do you see reggae/ Jamaican influenced music developing in Indonesia?
LR: I’m not trying to be snob or anything as I’m not really good at playing music either yet its just that the reggae bands here don’t seem to know how to deliver reggae music properly, to me the sounds is to weak. The most important part of reggae music is the bass and the drums, and many local reggae bands do not realize that, they just focus on the rhythm of the guitar.. I think the reggae bands here still need to research and learn to play the proper foundation sound of reggae music. But other than that, there are definitely positives coming out from the past few years.
RM: As in fan base for Reggae music in Indonesia, the following is unbelievably massive! I can say that outside Japan, we have the biggest number of reggae followers in Asia. But on the downside is that there are many ‘Marley-ists’ that are stuck on the “Legend” album. The other alignment is the Dub heads; they dislike the ‘Marley-ists’ but love Tubby and Perry. Only thing the Dub heads doesn’t follow is the new cultural artist for instance Tarrus, Luciano, Sizzla and so on. And then there are the skinheads, who listen to reggae music that predates the Rasta era, so they stick to that and don’t listen to the Rasta message since it “too black, too African” for them to relate.
We don’t fall into partiality for reggae. We Love the culture and respect all aspects of it. I see that Jamaican music will be powerful force in Indonesia once we set aside all the labels of “A”, “B” and just get on with the vibes. Forward still! I tell you that Asia-Afrika is the only sound in Southeast Asia that has direct links with Jamaica. Max Romeo, John Holt, Freddie McGregor just to name a few has worked with us. So dem chunes ago buss!!! Boom!
Further References:
Email:
aasound45@gmail.com
Website:
http://www.asia-afrikasoundsystem.blogspot.com/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Asia-Afrika-SoundSystem/196674367052895
http://www.facebook.com/groups/aasound45/
Soundcloud:
www.soundcloud.com/aasound45
Indonesia graft watchdog faces off against police - Sin Chew Jit Poh
Indonesia graft watchdog faces off against police - Sin Chew Jit Poh:
 Sky News Australia | Indonesia graft watchdog faces off against police Sin Chew Jit Poh Former Indonesian National Police traffic chief inspector General Djoko Susilo (C) just finishing his Friday prayers at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta before appearing before a police investigation regarding corruption tainted purchase ... Cop versus cop as Indonesia fights graftPerth Now all 17 news articles » |
Indonesia Seen Cutting Corn, Meal Imports on Record Costs - Bloomberg
Indonesia Seen Cutting Corn, Meal Imports on Record Costs - Bloomberg:
 Food World News | Indonesia Seen Cutting Corn, Meal Imports on Record Costs Bloomberg Soybean-meal and corn imports by Indonesia may decline this year as meat producers struggle to cope with record prices of the feed ingredients and the government limits grain purchases, according to a millers' group. Meal imports will probably drop to ... Indonesia to Reduce Corn and Soy ImportsFood World News all 4 news articles » |
End Indonesia anti-terror training: Greens - The Australian
End Indonesia anti-terror training: Greens - The Australian:
 AFP | End Indonesia anti-terror training: Greens The Australian Greens senator Richard Di Natale has been concerned for some time about the level of accountability in Australia's funding and training for Indonesian forces. "The fact that Australian dollars are training Indonesian military, particularly counter ... Australia presses Indonesia on Papua killingAFP Papuans claim Australian link to death squadABC Online Aust to keep raising rights with IndonesiaSBS Radio Australia all 45 news articles » |
Indonesia Approves AirAsia-Fersindo Acquisition of Batavia Air - Fox Business
Indonesia Approves AirAsia-Fersindo Acquisition of Batavia Air - Fox Business:
Indonesia Approves AirAsia-Fersindo Acquisition of Batavia Air Fox Business AirAsia will buy 49% of Batavia--the maximum Indonesia allows a foreign entity--and Fersindo the remainder. Fersindo owns 51% of PT Indonesia AirAsia, the local unit of AirAsia. Indonesia AirAsia started international flights last year. It has the ... Indonesia Approves AirAsia's Purchase Of Batavia AirBernama AirAsia gets Indonesia's approval for Batavia Air purchaseThe Star Online all 5 news articles » |
Indonesian universities: weak link in booming economy - The Australian
Indonesian universities: weak link in booming economy - The Australian:
Indonesian universities: weak link in booming economy The Australian Indonesia's creaking university system is failing to keep pace with its booming economy, struggling to produce graduates equipped for modern working life in the Southeast Asian nation. Investors have flocked to the fast-modernising country of 240 ... and more » |
Indonesia rebukes Carr over West Papua call - Sydney Morning Herald
Indonesia rebukes Carr over West Papua call - Sydney Morning Herald:
AFP | Indonesia rebukes Carr over West Papua call Sydney Morning Herald Mr Carr called for the inquiry after allegations that officers of the Australian-trained Indonesian anti-terror unit, Detachment 88, were involved in the killing of leader Mako Tabuni in June. Mr Tabuni, the deputy chairman of the independence group ... End Indonesia anti-terror training: GreensThe Australian Australia presses Indonesia on Papua killingAFP Anger at Carr's call for inquiry into rebel shootingBrisbane Times ABC Online all 55 news articles » |
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